Functions of the Office of Disability Services include (but are not limited to):

• Meeting with and supporting students with disabilities through our intake process.
• Determining academic accommodations for students with disabilities in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990; Amendments Act, 2008).
• Providing training, education, and consultation to faculty regarding various disabilities and accessibility for students.
• Advising departments, programs, and the administration regarding the College’s legal obligations to students with disabilities.

The Office of Disability Services can:

• Recommend inclusive instructional strategies.
• Discuss the appropriateness of requested academic adjustment and how to implement those adjustments for which a student is eligible.
• Offer educational consultation and training regarding various disabilities, associated barriers to access, and strategies for inclusion.
• Advise you as to whether a particular technology or other instructional tool is accessible and compliant with federal law.

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has repeatedly emphasized that the authority and responsibility for determining eligibility and accommodations lies with the Office of Disability Services office (or equivalent). Our office provides a letter each semester notifying faculty in of reasonable accommodations to which each student is entitled. Accommodations are determined through our intake process.

Academic accommodations are determined based on our intake process with the student. Accommodations are based on what would be considered reasonable, according to state and federal legislation for removing barriers to access or “leveling the playing field” and the learning environment at MCCC. Accommodations are not intended to lower the academic standards or change the fundamental objectives of a course or a program.

No, you should not ask this question. As an instructor should with any student, you should speak to concerns about a skill and/or knowledge deficits relevant to your course. A student may be struggling or experiencing challenges in your course that are not disability related.

If the student requested a Letter of Accommodations (LOA) for the semester, you should receive it from our office. If you did not receive a Letter of Accommodation from the Office of Disability Services, you are not required to provide accommodations. Faculty should not attempt to evaluate educational, medical, or psychological reports. If a student gives you such documentation or requests accommodations, return the paperwork to the student and refer the student to the Office of Disability Services.

The College policy for Services for Students with Disabilities states, “Faculty should refrain from discussing a student's issues regarding disabilities and accommodations for them in the presence of other students, or to faculty or staff not directly involved in the accommodation process.”

No. Disclosure of specific information regarding the nature or type of disability is not required and, in most cases, not needed to adequately accommodate a student’s learning needs. It is the student’s choice to disclose or not to disclose. Regardless of the goodness of intent, instructors should not attempt to elicit information about the nature of a student’s condition. The ADA(AA) and Section 504 protect the student’s privacy.

Students are encouraged to speak with each faculty member to ensure mutual understanding of how suggested accommodations will be accessed for that particular class. If they do not request a meeting, you may ask to meet with them to discuss the accommodations if needed, but receipt of a current Letter of Accommodations is sufficient to “activate” accommodations. However concerns about the impact of a particular accommodation should not be addressed to the student, but directly to the Disability Services Center.

There is no deadline for requesting disability accommodations. An individual may develop a disability during a semester or a pre-existing condition that formerly did not substantially impact the student’s academic performance may have become exacerbated. Additionally, many students decide they want to try to attend without accommodations but find this is not realistic. The latter is quite frequent among traditional-age incoming students who experienced stigma and/or shame when receiving services in K-12.

The law does not require faculty to provide “retroactive accommodations.” Once a Letter of Accommodations from our office is received, that is when accommodations are “activated.”

If you suspect a student has a disability but has not identified themselves as having a disability, it is suggested you meet with the student privately, give feedback on what you have observed, and ask the student if assistance is needed. 

If the answer indicates there is a history of a disability, explain that the Office of Disability Services may be of help and provide referral information. If the student rejects the suggestion, respect that decision.

• The library can assist with the identification of captioned videos when choosing your content.
• The IT Knowledge Base has instructions for captioning video created with Yuja.
• The IT Knowledge Base has multiple resources to guide the production of accessible documents, including, PDF and PowerPoint formats.
• Office of Disability Services provides accessible textbooks to students with documented print disabilities.
• Office of Disability Services can assist in the conversion of classroom handouts to an accessible format for students with print disabilities with 1-2 weeks’ notice, depending upon the nature and complexity of the material.

All students, whether they have a disability or not, must comply with the College Code of Conduct. If a student with a disability presents with problematic behavior, you should first address this with them as you would with a non-disabled student. This should be done in a private setting. Identify in concrete terms the nature of the behavior that concerns you, the impact on the class, and describe the changes needed to ensure a productive and respectful learning environment for all students. Invite the student to discuss how this might be accomplished. (E.g., if a student is dominating a class with questions or comments, the student might limit his or her contributions to 2-3 times during the class, try to limit remarks to a couple of sentences, and address remaining points to you in email or after class.)

1. The student has told me this is due to disability and reminded me that she/he has accommodations from the Office of Disability Services. Must I accommodate these behaviors if they are due to disability?
2. The student agreed to modify his or her behavior, but does not seem able to do so in a sustained fashion. What happens now?

In both cases, you should contact the Office of Disability Services to discuss the situation. While all students, regardless of disability status, must comply with the College code of conduct, students with disabilities that impact their ability to do so must be offered appropriate supports if these exist, to participate in college programs and activities. 

Service animals are protected by the A.D.A. Amendments Act. The right to be accompanied by a service animal is considered a matter of access, rather than an accommodation. A person who requires a service animal does not need to request permission from the Office of Disability Services. Remember that some disabilities for which persons use service animals are invisible. For questions about this topic, please contact the Office of Disability Services.

Note that this protection applies only to service animals (only dogs and occasionally miniature horses); it does not apply to emotional support animals (sometimes called comfort animals or therapy animals). 

Our team is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

You can contact Disability Services at disabilities@mc3.edu. We are in College Hall in the Student Success Center on the Blue Bell campus.